Lansing woman pleads guilty to gun charge in 2-year-old son's fatal shooting

A Lansing woman charged in connection with the 2023 shooting death of her 2-year-old son has pleaded guilty to a gun charge, federal officials said.

Emma Huver, 26, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said in a statement Monday.

As part of the plea, Huver admitted she had a purple 9mm Smith & Wesson semi-automatic pistol in her car when the fatal shooting unfolded on Oct. 24.

"Today’s guilty plea is one step forward in our effort to achieve a measure of justice for this tragic loss of life," Totten said. "This case magnifies one of the grimmest statistics we live with in America today: that gun violence is now the #1 cause of death for our youngest, ages 0-19. We cannot accept this 'new normal,' but must do everything we can to prevent these deaths."

Reached Tuesday, Daniel Fagan, Huver's attorney, said he had no comment about the plea agreement.

Huver is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 16.

She was among three people federal prosecutors charged in connection with the shooting death at a Lansing gas station.

Police said Huver, her son and Avis Damone Coward were in a white GMC Yukon at the time.

Coward, the vehicle's driver, exited the SUV and left Huver and her son inside, investigators said. Video taken by the gas station's security cameras showed a bullet hole appeared in one of the vehicle's windows a minute later, they said.

Officials said Huver then got out of the Yukon while holding her son, who had a bloody face. A gun also fell out of the open door.

Huver gave the boy to Coward, who passed him to a third person, according to authorities. The third person took the child to the gas station and tried to stop the bleeding.

Prosecutors said the security video footage also shows Coward putting the gun back in the car, breaking out the window that had a bullet hole in it and driving away.

Huver's son later died from his injuries.

Lansing police arrested Coward later in the day but did not find the Yukon, according to federal court documents. Investigators later found the Yukon burned in a Lansing field and recovered a disassembled semiautomatic pistol from inside the wall of a home in the city, officials said.

In November, Coward was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm as he'd been convicted of six felonies since 1998 and was prohibited from owning one, a federal complaint said.

He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, a 15-year felony; conspiracy to tamper with evidence, a 20-year felony; and tampering with evidence, a 20-year felony.

The next month, authorities charged Huver and Gina Schieberl for their roles in the shooting.

Huver was charged as being a felon in possession of a firearm, a 15-year offense. State officials also charged her with involuntary manslaughter, a 15-year felony; second-degree child abuse, a 10-year offense; being a felon in possession of a firearm, a five-year felony; carrying a concealed weapon in an automobile, a five-year felony; and three counts of felony firearm.

She was also charged as a habitual offender, fourth offense. Huver had previously been convicted of a felony drug offense in 2020, officials said.

Schieberl was charged with conspiracy to tamper with evidence and tampering with evidence, both punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

cramirez@detroitnews.com

X: @CharlesERamirez